Golf club with finger orienting grip

ABSTRACT

A golf club in which a grip having a flat portion for the palm of one of the golfer&#39;&#39;s hand is combined with a finger positioning means for the fingers of the other hand so the two hands are desirably oriented relative to each other and to the clubhead of the club. The finger positioning means is an elongated ridge which has a longitudinal axis generally following the longitudinal axis of the tubular shaft. The ridge is located on the tubular shaft about 105* as measured between the axes perpendicular to the flat portion of the grip and the ridge. The same relationship of the flat surface to the ridge is provided for the various clubs with different clubheads of varying pitch. The hands of the golfer will be correctly positioned relative to each other when the palm of the leading hand abuts the flat surface and the fingers of the following hand are positioned relative to the elongated ridge. The fingers of the following hand are properly positioned relative to the ridge when the aligned creases formed on the inside of hand by the second joints of the fingers engages the ridge.

Dec. 19, 1972 1,792 1/1911 Great Britain..................... 201 8/1923 4/1934 [54] GOLF CLUB WITH FINGER ORIENTING GRIP ,621 Great Britain Great Britain [72] Inventor: Nate Rosasco, .Ir., Chicago, Ill.

Golf Company Primary ExaminerAnton O. Oechsle Assistant Examiner-Richard .1. Apley Assignee: Northwestern Chicago, Ill.

Attorney-Burmeister, Kulie, Southard & Godula [22] Filed: Nov. 2, 1970 Appl. No.: 86,307

ABSTRACT A golf club in which a grip having a flat portion for Related Application Data the palm of one of the golfers hand is combined with a finger positioning means for the fingers of the other [63] Continuation of Ser.

No. 730,977, May 6, 1968,

abandoned. hand so the two hands are desirably oriented relative to each other and to the clubhead of the club. The finger positioning means is an elongated ridge which [52] U.S. l.................................273/8l.4, 273/81 B l l has a longitudinal axis generally following the longitu- Int. 53/14 273/511, 81.4, 81.5, 81.6,166,

[58! Field of Search... dinal axis of the tubular shaft. The ridge is located on the tubular shaft about 105 as measured between the 273/75, 81.3, 67 DA, 67 DB axes perpendicular to the flat portion of the grip and the ridge. The same relationship of the flat surface to [56] References Cited the ridge is provided for the various clubs with different clubheads of varying pitch. The hands of the UNITED STATES PATENTS golfer will be correctly positioned relative to each Fletcher IIIIIIIII.

1 Claim, 8 Drawing Figures FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 6,763 4/1932 Australia...,..................,,.....273/8l B m In"? A A h 1551,! 2.51:. 7

PAIENTED DEC 19 I972 SHEET 1 (IF 2 o tflow-1125.5

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 730,977, filed May 6, 1968, now abandoned.

This invention relates to a golf club having a grip in which a flat portion for positioning the palm of one hand of the golfer is uniquely combined with positioning means for the fingers of the other hand of the golfer to desirably orient both hands relative to each other when gripping the club.

Many models of commercially available golf clubs are provided with grips especially designed to help a golfer correctly position the hand which leads the golf swing, that is the left hand for right-handed golfers who comprise the great majority of players. Such grips generally employ a flat portion on the grip near the top of the club shaft, or that end of the shaft opposite the clubhead. This flat portion is disposed in a plane which is generally parallel to the shaft and oriented in a preselected manner to the clubhead. When such flat portion is placed in a particular abutting position against the palm of the leading hand, the leading hand is positioned to direct the ball in the proper direction when the club is swung in the manner of a skilled golfer. This flat portion extends from the top of the golf club shaft and may be provided on an exterior tubular wall on a cap which fits over the end of the golf club shaft, such as shown in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,252,706, to Nate Rosasco, Sr. entitled Golf Club Hand Grip.

The plane of the flat surface is disposed at an obtuse angle to the leading edge of the clubhead, that is, the lower, forward edge of the clubhead. The precise angle of the leading edge of the clubhead to the flat surface of the grip is the same for all clubs of a set regardless of loft.

Such a flat surface is commonly provided by a cap having a flat portion, as in the Rosasco patent referred to above, or by grinding down the underlying filler over which the external layers of wrapping are wound. Such a flat surface also could be formed by modifying a wall of the cylindrical shaft or by other means.

Grips provided with the foregoing flat portions aid in positioning the leading hand, but they do not define a single unique position since the hand does. not have a true flat surface. For this reason, a golfer can learn to position a club with a flat surface in any one of a plurality of positions with the aid of a flat surface locator, but once the golfer has learned to position the club in one position of his hand by means of the locator, he will always be able to repeat this position. Hence, a flat surface on the grip of the golf club has been found to be very desirable for many golfers.

To most golfers, a particular comfortable position for the flat surface of a grip is in abuttment with the portion of the palm of the leading hand on the underside of the thumb. In order to properly direct the ball with the grip in this position, the flat surface of the grip must be at an angle of about 135 to the leading edge of the golf club, measured counterclockwise for right handed golfers and clockwise for left handed golfers. Since this angle has proven to be optimum, this convention has been established in the golf club industry for golf clubs with flat surface locator grips.

Golf clubs with flat surface locator grips provide a feel which aides in positioning the leading hand of the golfer on the club, but they do not provide a single position in which the club can be comfortably held by the 1 leading hand. It is therefore one of the objects of the present invention to provide a golf club grip for more precisely locating the leading hand of the golfer on the grip.

Golf club grips with flat surfaces do not provide adequate aid in positioning the following hand of the golfer. The following hand is the right hand for right handed golfers, or the left hand for left handed golfers. While U.S. Pat. No. 2,877,018 of Turner discloses flat surfaces for engaging the thumb of the following hand of a golfer, a considerable range of grip positions are possible in the Turner construction. It is an object of the present invention to provide a golf club with a simple and positive means for locating on the grip thereof the position of the following hand of a golfer relative to the golfers leading hand. It is also an object of the present invention to provide a golf club with positive and improved means for locating both hands of the golfer on the grip of the golf club.

It is therefore one important object of the present invention to provide a golf club grip with positioning means for the leading and following hands of the golfer in a more precise and positive manner than prior positioning means.

A further object of the invention is to provide a golf club grip having a flat portion for positioning the leading hand of the golfer and a finger locator for the other invention described in the ensuing disclosure which includes drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view of a golf club constructed according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the golf club shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a golf club grip showing an alternative embodiment, the plane corresponding to that ofFlG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a golf club grip showing still another alternative embodiment, the plane corresponding to that of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view of a golf club construction which constitutes another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view of a golf club construction which constitutes another embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along the line 8-8 of FIG. 7.

FIGS. 1 through 3 illustrate a golf club constructed according to the teachings of the present invention. The golf club has a tubular shaft 7 which has a slightly decreasing diameter from the one end to the other. A grip 7A is mounted on the end of the larger diameter and a club head 78 is mounted on the opposite end. The grip 7A utilizes a cap 8 which is disposed over the open end of the shaft 7. The cap 8 has a circular end portion 8a with a peripheral flange 8b extending out- IOGOII 004R wardly from the generally cylindrical exterior surface of a tubular portion 80 of the cap which depends from the end portion 8a. The inside diameter of the tubular portion 8c is sufficiently large to allow the cap to be slipped over the outside surface of the shaft 7, and the tubular portion is secured on the shaft, as by cement. A paper filler is wrapped around the shaft 7 from the cap 8 to the opposite end of the grip, and the filler abuts the end 8d of the tubular portion 80 of the cap 8.

The paper filler is of increasing thickness as it is wound towards the top of the shaft so that the filler and tubular portion 80 of the cap form a continuous surface at their junction. This continuous surface, in fact, continues from the end portion 8a of the cap 8 down the grip in a gradually decreasing taper. The paper filler 10 is mounted on the outside of the tubular shaft 7 by cement, and the cap 8 is similarly bonded on the outside of the shaft by a layer of cement disposed between the shaft and the inside surface of tubular portion 8c.

The paper filler 10 is primarily for the purpose of giving the golfer the most desirable feel, which most golfers agree is achieved by a layer of paper filler covered by an outer layer formed by wrapping with a strip of leather. This tubular portion extends from the end of the shaft a distance sufficient to accommodate at least one hand, as shown in FIG. 1, namely two to three inches. However, the invention may also be practiced as illustrated in FIG. 6 with a cap 8' having tubular portion 80' extending the entire length of the grip and without any paper filler layer, if desired. The principle advantage of the relatively short cap and the continuing paper filler layer from the cap over a tubular cap extending the entire length of the grip is that the short cap and paper filler layer provide a preferable feel to the golfer. The tips of the golfers fingers provide a sensitivity to the feel of a golf club not provided by the golfers palm, and hence this grip gives the illusion of a continuous paper layer along the entire length of the grip (beneath the leather layer), which is preferred by most golfers. Hence, preferred feel is achieved by a grip having a cap with a length between two and three inches and a paper layer extending from the cap.

The illustrated grip also includes an outer layer 12 which is shown as a layer of leather formed by winding a leather strip tightly around the filler 10 and tubular portion 8c of the cap 8. The layer 12 is preferably wrapped past the end of the layer of paper or filler remote from the cap 8, as indicated at 12a. A ferrule 13 is used to wedge the end of the layer at 12a tightly against the shaft to guard against undwinding of the leather strip. The ferrule has an inside taper which decreases towards the bottom where the ferrule frictionally engages the shaft and flairs outwardly at the top to wedge the layer 12 between the shaft and the ferrule wall.

The cap 8 has a flat surface 14 which is located in the tubular portion 8c slightly below edge 14a of the circular end portion 8a. This flat surface lies in a plane which, if it were extended to intersect the club face,

would form an obtuse angle of about 135 with the leading edge 16 of the club head 7b. The flat surface 14 has a generally trapezoidal configuration and extends down the side of the grip about 2-3 inches, as indicated in dashed lines in FIG. 1. The palm of the leading hand in the golfer abuts against the flat surface 14 when this hand engages the grip.

The positioning means to locate the fingers of the following hand is an elongated ridge or rib 18. Such ridge preferably extends from near the cap of the grip to just short of the terminating point of the grip which is demarcated by ferrule 14. The ridge l8 lies in a plane traversing the longitudinal axis of the tubular shaft 7 and disposed at the angle of taper of the grip to the longitudinal axis of the grip. The ridge 18 preferably has an axis of elongation sufficient to provide a selection of hand placement along the longitudinal axis of the grip 7A.

The ridge 18 is shown as being formed by a straight elongated cylindrical rod 18a which is fixed in position between the underlying filler 10 and the outer layer '12. Cement may be used to bond the rod 18a on the filler l0 and on the exterior surface of wall of the cap 8, but the tightly wrapped outer layer 12 may provide sufficient constraint on the rod 18a to hold the rod in its preselected position in the grip. I

The location of the ridge 18 relative to the flat portion 14 is a most important feature of the invention, since it desirably correlates the following hand to the leading hand of the golfer. The ridge 18 should be located at an angle 20 of about from the axial plane normal to the surface 14 measured in the counter clockwise direction from said axial plane for a right handed golfer. This angle 20 is measured in a clockwise direction from the axial plane normal to the surface 14 for a left handed golfer. Variation in location of the ridge 18 up to 5 are permissable, but any greater departure improperly positions the hands of the golfer relative to each other.

It is important that the rib l8 protrude a distance sufficient only to provide a sense of location to the innermost crease on the inside of the leading hand and to the crease of the following hand formed by the second joints of the fingers, that is the second joints from the ends of the fingers. A substantially greater protrusion will make gripping awkward and blunt the advantages of the invention. It is also required that the ridge 18 not project radially to a great extent because this will likewise make the grip awkward. It is required that the ridge 18 be totally disposed within an arc length of about 5 and protrude from the surface of the grip not more than one-quarter of an inch.

It has been found preferrable to position the ridge 18 at an angle of about 105 to the normal of the flat surface 14 because of the fact that most golfers prefer to position the flat surface in abuttment with the portion of the palm of the leading hand directly under the thumb and the angle of about 105 positions the innermost crease of the fingers with the palm in adjacency with the ridge 18. The golfer thus has two spaced configurations of the golf club grip to mate comfortably with the leading hand, thus making it virtually certain that the leading hand will be properly positioned on the club grip. As far as the leading hand is concerned, the grip 18 could be positioned to abut with the second crease inwardly from the ends of the fingers of the leading hand which would position the rib 18 at an angle of about to the normal to the flat surface 14. Such a construction requires positioning the following hand with its innermost crease between the fingers of the palm in alignment with the ridge 18. This position is not deemed to be as satisfactory as that illustrated in the drawings.

Further, individual golfers will adjust their hands differently to a given grip, and neither the flat surface 14 nor the rib 18 are incompatible with such adjustments. It is therefore possible to vary the angle of the rib relative to the normal to the flat side from the preferred angle of 105, and some golfers may prefer a different angle. However, because of the fact that an angle of approximately 105 positions the leading hand of the golfer with the portion of the palm on the underside of the thumb in abuttment with the flat surface and with the innermost crease formed by the fingers and the palm in alignment with the rib l8, and at the same time positions the fingers of the trailing hand with the second crease inwardly from their ends in alignment with the rib 18, this angle is preferred, but with the realization that it may be varied over an angle of plus or minus approximately 20 without disturbing this relationship.

A golfer may use a golf club provided with the combination of the flat surface 14 and the elongated ridge locator by abutting the portion of the palm formed by the underside of his thumb against the flat surface and locating the ridge 18 on the innermost joints of the leading hand. In addition, the golfer locates the ridge 18 with the aligned inside crease of the second joints of the fingers of his following hand. The elongated ridge will extend substantially the full length of the grip so that the following hand, which is in the lower position relative to the leading hand, may find the ridge or rib in various longitudinal positions along the grip.

The elongated ridge 18 may extend well towards the top of the grip without incurring possibility of undesirable interference with the leading hand of the golfer, since the ridge 18 is aligned with the innermost crease of the leading hand thus aiding in positioning the leading hand. The extension of the elongated member 18a towards the top of the grip, therefore, allows additional versatility in positioning the following hand without incurring awkward feel or interference of the grasp of the leading hand on the golf club shaft. The small radial and circumferential extensions additionally prevent undue interference of the feel and grip on the club shaft, while still effectively providing a locator for the fingers of the following hand.

The elongated member has been illustrated as formed by a solid circular rod 18a, but the shape of the member and the means to secure its position on the shaft may be modified as illustrated by the alternative embodiments of FIGS. 4 and 5. The elongated member may have a triangular configuration such as that shown at 21 and the base of the elongated triangular member may have one or more pins or the like 22 rigidly mounted so that they may pierce the paper filler 10 and tubular member 180. In FIG. 5 an elongated member 24 is shown with a substantially rectangular configuration which is fixedly mounted directly to the shaft 7. The metallic member 24 may be soldered to the shaft or a projection may be stamped out in the tubular shaft. Still other variations will occur to practitioners.

While the combination of the projecting ridge and the flat reminder have been shown with a grip construction having an underlying filler and an outer layer wrapping, combinations of these inventive features may be provided with grips of other construction. As illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8, a rubber r' 8" b molded and vulcanized directly to a shaft grovid di vit a flat portion 14 and a ridge l8 projecting from the surface 26 of the grip in accordance with the teachings of this invention.

The invention may now be practiced in the many various ways which occur to those skilled in this art, and all such modifications in practice will comprise a part of the concept behind the disclosed embodiments. The invention is now defined by the terms of the following claims which are given further meaning by the language of the preceding description.

The invention claimed is:

1. A golf club comprising a substantially straight shaft having a longitudinal axis about which the shaft is elongated, a club head fixed to one end of said shaft and having a leading edge, an elongated hand grip disposed on the opposite end of the shaft in substantially coaxial relation thereto, said grip defining a flat surface extending along the grip from the outer end thereof about 2 to 3 inches in generally parallel relation to said longitudinal axis of the shaft, said fiat surface facing transversely with reference to said shaft in the same general transverse direction as said club head and being oriented at a standardized angle of approximately 135 with reference to said leading edge of the club head, said flat surface being perpendicular to a first plane containing said longitudinal axis of the shaft, said grip defining a straight finger locating ridge extending from adjacent to the opposite end of the shaft along substantially the entire grip in a second plane traversing said longitudinal shaft axis, said second plane being disposed at an angle to said first plane between and said finger locating ridge having a height above the adjacent surface of the grip no greater than one fourth of an inch, and said finger locating ridge having a width forming with reference to said longitudinal axis of the shaft a radial angle no greater than 5. 

